Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Working to Lower TRICARE Drug Costs

Today my colleague Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and I joined over forty other House Democrats on a letter to House and Senate conferees for the Fiscal Year 2007 National Defense Authorization Bill. We are urging them to adopt a Senate provision requiring pharmaceutical companies to give TRICARE beneficiaries discounts on retail prescription drugs. This provision would not only generate tremendous savings, but ensure that the Department of Defense (DoD) does not have to raise co-payments for active duty and retired military personnel.

While I recognize the need to contain prescription drug costs, I will not sit quiet while our leadership lets drug companies off the hook and shifts the burden to our active duty and retired military personnel. We know how to provide low-cost prescription drugs for military beneficiaries. We just need to hold the drug companies accountable for a discount they should already provide.